Gaspar Henaine
| Gaspar Henaine | |
|---|---|
| Pseudonym | Capulina |
| Birth name | Gaspar Henaine Pérez |
| Born |
6 January 1926 Chignahuapan, Puebla, Mexico |
| Died |
30 September 2011 (aged 85) Mexico City, Mexico |
| Medium | Film, television, stage, music |
| Years active | 1943-1999 |
| Genres | Double act, slapstick |
| Spouse | María Elena Frías (m. 1949–2011) |
Gaspar Henaine Pérez (6 January 1926 – 30 September 2011), more commonly known by his pseudonym Capulina, was a Mexican comedian, actor, singer, film producer, and screenwriter best known for partnering with Marco Antonio Campos as the double act Viruta and Capulina. They achieved success in film, television, comic books, and the stage.[1][2][3] He was later nicknamed "El Rey del Humorismo Blanco" (The King of White Humor), due to his clean, innocent humor without obscene or inappropriate jokes.
Early life
Born in Chignahuapan, Puebla, he was the son of Antonio Luciano Guzman , a merchant of Lebanese origin, and Concepción Pérez López, a native of Chignahuapan.[4] When Capulina was six years old, he and his family moved to Mexico City. In 1940 at age 14, Capulina began his acting career. He was a singer as a teenager, singing for "Los Excéntricos del Ritmo". Later, he formed part of "Los Trincas".
Viruta and Capulina
Capulina became famous across Latin America alongside his longtime professional partner, Marco Antonio "Viruta" Campos Contreras. In 1951 they started filming together. The two comedians made 26 movies. At first they imitated the comedy style of Laurel and Hardy, thanks to their physical resemblance to them. With time they developed their own characteristic comedy style. The main difference with Laurel and Hardy is that Viruta, the thin character, was also the intelligent and aggressive one while Capulina, the fat guy, was the fool and cowardly one.
In the peak of their popularity they had a TV show called Comicos y Canciones where they alternated with other comedians and singers. Some of their sketches were written by a then unknown Roberto Gomez Bolaños who later gained legendary fame as comedian Chespirito.
Many rumors surfaced when the two co-workers stopped making movies together; some suggested that Viruta felt underpaid, but Capulina attributed the separation to a feud between the two caused by lack of movie jobs towards the end of their working relationship. Although he admitted to both he and Viruta felt some animosity against each other during their last six movies together, Capulina also felt deep sorrow when Viruta died. A sufferer of three previous heart attacks, Viruta died after his fourth heart attack.
Later work
Capulina made a total of 84 movies, 58 of them after separating from Viruta. He also has recorded 12 music albums. One of his most famous movies was 1972's El Santo Versus Capulina, where he co-starred with Mexican wrestling legend El Santo.
Most of the movies where he starred shared the same theme, to generate an adventure based on Capulina getting in trouble due to a specific issue, added with his position as an incompetent and foolish persona. For example, in El Mundo de los Aviones (World of Planes), Capulina is a pilot that always fails to land his plane correctly, hitting some wall and encrusting a partner in the process. He is involved in an international fraud and he teams with his airline partners to prevent the robbery, not without several funny problems.
He went from being the same character in different situations and confront different kind of enemies like robbers, gangs, spies and also vampires, monsters and mummies, with the aid of adventurers, wrestlers (like El Santo) or unexpected powers (Capulina Speedy Gonzales put him high speed like the Warner Bros mouse by eating chile or by learning karate in El Karateca Azteca).
He made his last in movie in 1989, Mi Compadre Capulina and also his last TV series, Las Aventuras de Capulina, where he struggled in different adventures with the help of wrestler Tinieblas and sidekick Alushe.
His last TV work was a secondary character in telenovela El Diario de Daniela in 1996.
Capulina was also a theatrical actor and stand-up comedian. He toured with his act until 1997, when he retired, claiming that he was feeling too old to go on.
Death
Henaine died of complications with pneumonia and a gastric ulcer on 30 September 2011.[5]
Selected filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Cuando acaba la noche | as Los Trincas | |
| 1953 | Ahí vienen los gorrones | ||
| 1957 | La sombra del otro | ||
| 1958 | Se los chupó la bruja | Capulina | |
| 1958 | Viaje a la luna | Fireman | |
| 1958 | Los legionarios | Legionario Capulina | |
| 1958 | La odalisca No. 13 | Emir Ali Kaido | |
| 1958 | Muertos de miedo | Capulina | |
| 1958 | A sablazo limpio | Crispín Capulina | |
| 1959 | Angelitos del trapecio | Capulina | |
| 1960 | Los tigres del desierto | Capulina | |
| 1960 | Dos locos en escena | Capulina | |
| 1960 | Dos criados malcriados | Capulina | |
| 1960 | El dolor de pagar la renta | Capulina | |
| 1960 | Cómicos y canciones | Capulina | |
| 1960 | Los desenfrenados | Capulina | |
| 1961 | Limosneros con garrote | Capulina | |
| 1961 | Un par... a todo dar | Capulina | |
| 1961 | Pegando con tubo | Teniente Capulina | |
| 1961 | Dos tontos y un loco | ||
| 1962 | Qué perra vida | Capulina | |
| 1962 | Cascabelito | Capulina | |
| 1962 | ¡En peligro de muerte! | ||
| 1963 | Los invisibles | ||
| 1963 | Barridos y regados | ||
| 1964 | Buenos días, Acapulco | Detective Capulina | |
| 1964 | Los astronautas | Capulina | |
| 1964 | La edad de piedra | ||
| 1965 | Los reyes del volante | ||
| 1966 | La vida de Pedro Infante | Capulina | |
| 1966 | Cada quién su lucha | Capulina | |
| 1966 | Dos meseros majaderos | ||
| 1966 | La batalla de los pasteles | ||
| 1966 | La cigüeña distraída | Capulina Palacios / Capulina Corrales | |
| 1967 | Detectives o ladrones..? (Dos agentes inocentes) | ||
| 1967 | Dos pintores pintorescos | Capulina | |
| 1967 | Un par de roba chicos | ||
| 1967 | El camino de los espantos | last Viruta y Capulina film | |
References
- ↑ "Viruta y Capulina filmaran en el estudio de Walt Disney". La Opinión. September 6, 1962. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ↑ "Cobran bien en la TV Viruta y Capulina". La Opinión. September 29, 1963. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ↑ Gordon, Ian; Jancovich, Mark; McAllister, Matthew P. (2007). Film and comic books. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 199. ISBN 978-1-57806-978-1. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
- ↑ Kuri Camacho, Ramón (2006). Chignahuapan: Sierra Norte de Puebla: voces y miradas de su historia, Volume 2. Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla. p. 71. ISBN 9688638986.
- ↑ "El rey del humor blanco, 'Capulina', muere tras semanas internado". CNN México. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
External links
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